Weekend sports wrap: Natives fall to Oil Caps; Calvert wins junior national crown

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Published on Monday, January 27, 2014

myWestman.ca

The following is a recap of what transpired in local sports over the weekend . . .

Oil Caps score three in second en route to win over Natives

The Neepawa Natives dropped a 5-4 decision to the host Virden Oil Capitals in Manitoba Junior Hockey League action on Friday night.

Lucas Oliver opened the scoring for the Oil Capitals at the 6:24 mark of the first period before Drake Lindsay replied for Neepawa on the power play later in the frame to make the score 1-1 after 20 minutes.

The second period saw Virden erupt for three consecutive goals -- the first two with the man advantage -- off the sticks of Cody Nelson, Jake Dudar and Kurt Johnas before Natives captain Robby Moar scored the team's second power play goal of the night to cut the Oil Caps lead to 4-2.

Artsiom Kalashnikov netted a power play goal for Virden less than four minutes into the third before Moar scored his second of the night at the 14:39 mark for Neepawa. Colton Magwood would wrap up the scoring on the night with another power play goal for Neepawa late in the contest.

Oil Capitals goaltender Adam Iwan made 17 saves for the win, while Matthieu Verreault turned aside 25 of Virden's 30 shots between the pipes for Neepawa.

Both teams finished the night 3-for-5 on the power play. 

The Natives were scheduled to host the Waywayseecappo Wolverines on Sunday night, however all the games that day were postponed due to poor weather.

For the rest of the scores from around the league from Friday and Saturday night, click here.

Calvert wins Canadian junior curling championship

Carberry's own Braden Calvert won this year's Canadian junior men's curling championship on Sunday in Liverpool, N.S.

Calvert and his Winnipeg team of third Kyle Kurz, second Lucas Van Den Bosch and lead Brendan Wilson defeated New Brunswick's Rene Comeau 7-5 in the championship final.

After falling behind by a score of 2-1, Calvert and his team wound up stealing four in the fourth end en route to the victory.

Calvert, 18, ended up going 9-1 in their respective pool at the event and had a berth in the final clinched since Wednesday.

Calvert and his team will now represent Canada at the world junior curling championship in Switzerland next month.

The win gave Manitoba its second straight junior men's national title. The championship final was broadcast live on TSN.

Lisoway scores as Wheat Kings double up Prince George

The Brandon Wheat Kings scored four straight tallies, including three unanswered in the third period Saturday night to defeat the visiting Prince George Cougars 6-3 at Westman Communications Group Place.

Peter Quenneville scored twice for Brandon, while Ryan Pulock, Ryan Pilon, Eric Roy and Neepawa's Quintin Lisoway netted the other tallies for the Wheat Kings in the win.

Both goalkeepers -- Brandon's Curtis Honey and Ty Edmonds of the Cougars -- finished the night with 25 saves each.

Saturday night was MTS Connect Matt Calvert Bobblehead Night and attracted more than 3,800 fans to Westman Communications Group Place. The first 2,000 fans in attendance received a bobblehead that featured the Columbus Blue Jackets star and former Wheat King in his 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup jersey.

Calvert played three seasons in Brandon and led the Wheat Kings to the Memorial Cup championship final against the Windsor Spitfires.

MSSA doles out awards

The Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association announced its 2013 award winners at a banquet in Winnipeg on Sunday night.

The Jennifer Jones curling team, which includes Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer and Dawn McEwen, was named the team of the year. Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews won the male athlete of the year award, while Breanne Siwicki ended up taking home the female athlete of the year.

For more on the awards, click here.


BU review: women's volleyball team makes history

The Brandon University women's volleyball team made history on Friday night at the Healthy Living Centre. The Lady 'Cats defeated the Winnipeg Wesmen in straight sets, and in the process improved to 14-4, which passes the team's highest win total in the program's nine-year history.

Vaovai Aiono had 12 kills for the Bobcats who have clinched a playoff spot and currently sit in second place in the Canada West standings.

The BU men's team picked up a much-needed four-set victory over Winnipeg on Friday as well. The win snapped a five game losing streak and keeps the Bobcats in the mix for a playoff spot.

Turning to basketball, the University of Winnipeg Wesmen completed a home-and-home series sweep with a 77-69 victory over the BU Bobcats men's team Saturday night in Winnipeg. Winnipeg defeated the Bobcats (5-11) by an identical 77-69 score Thursday night in Brandon.

Meanwhile, the BU women's basketball team dropped a 76-66 decision to the Wesmen on Saturday. The Lady 'Cats (5-11) lost 58-54 to Winnipeg on Thursday. 


Chiefs fall to Northstars in a shootout, lose to Wild

The Norman Northstars edged the Yellowhead Chiefs 4-3 in a shootout in Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League action on Saturday in Shoal Lake.

Riley Shamray, Ashton Anderson and Josh Martin scored for the Chiefs in regulation.

Brady Keeper scored the game winner for the Northstars in the shootout.

On Sunday in Shoal Lake, the Chiefs dropped a 4-1 decision to the Winnipeg Wild.

Morgan Geekie scored the lone goal for the Chiefs, who currently sit with a 16-19-0-4 record.

Meanwhile, the Brandon AAA Wheat Kings continue to impress as the club defeated the Northstars 11-1 on Friday night and followed that up with an 8-1 win over the Eastman Selects on Saturday. The Wheat Kings currently sit with a 34-3-0-1 record and are one point ahead of the Wild for first place in the standings.

For the rest of the scores over the weekend, click here.


Jets improve to 6-1 under Maurice

The NHL's Winnipeg Jets picked another four points over the weekend and improved to 6-1 under new head coach Paul Maurice.

On Saturday, Dustin Byfuglien scored the game winner in overtime as the Jets defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 at the MTS Centre.

The Jets held a 4-1 lead in the second period, however the Leafs wound up tying the contest as Phil Kessel scored Toronto's fourth goal late in the third.

Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little and Zach Bogosian scored the goals for the Jets in regulation.

On Sunday, the Jets rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the third period, scoring three consecutive tallies en route to a 3-1 win in Chicago against the Blackhawks.

Blake Wheeler scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season, while Andrew Ladd netted the other tally for the Jets, who improved to 25-24-5 on the year.


McNamee wins fourth straight Super League title

Brandon's Terry McNamee won his fourth straight Westman Super League of Curling title over the weekend.

McNamee and his team defeated Carberry's Kelly Marnoch 5-1 in the championship final at the Brandon Curling Club on Sunday. With the win, McNamee became the first to win four straight league titles.

McNamee and his team of third Steve Irwin, second Travis Taylor and lead Travis Saban finished the regular season with a 10-1 record. McNamee's team advanced to the final after defeating Brian Fowler's rink -- which was skipped by Kelly McMechan -- in a semifinal. Marnoch meanwhile, defeated Jim Renwick in the other semifinal.

Neepawa's Jerry Chudley lost to Renwick in a quarter-final on Sunday morning.


Farmers edge Glenboro

The Neepawa Farmers edged the Glenboro Nordics 3-2 in the Tiger Hills Hockey League on Friday at the Yellowhead Centre.

Travis Tilley, Reg Delaloye and Clarke Rempel scored for Neepawa in the win.

On Saturday, the Farmers lost 8-7 to the Carberry Plainsmen in Neepawa.

Lance Nugent scored twice, while Devin Epp, Reg Delaloye, Bret Levandoski, Eric Jury and Bryan White scored the other goals for the Farmers, who now sit with a 7-12-1-0 record.

In photo: Braden Calvert

Photo courtesy of Canadian Curling Association